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United Internet Buys Versatel Shares(dpa-AFX International Compact Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) MONTABAUR (dpa-AFX) - German Internet service provider United Internet AG (UDIRF.PK) has inked a deal with the U.S. private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR) to acquire the 74.9% of shares in Versatel GmbH, Berlin held indirectly by funds managed by KKR and thus to raise its holding of Versatel shares to 100%. The share purchase is to be effected through a complete takeover of Versatel's holding company VictorianFibre Holding Beteiligungs-GmbH. United Internet has owned an indirect stake in Versatel of 25.1% since the end of 2012. For the remaining 74.9% of shares, United Internet would pay nearly 586 million euros cash. The purchase price and repayment of the Versatel Group's existing net bank liabilities of 361 million euros is to be financed by new loans. Through this acquisition, United Internet would gain access to Germany's second-largest fiber-optic network with a length of about 37,000 km. It can be accessed in 226 cities, including 19 of the 25 largest cities in Germany. In addition, United Internet intends to source DSL pre-services produced by Versatel in future and thus save up to nearly 55 million euros per annum. The planned investments for the years up to 2019, specially for the expansion of Versatel's DSL infrastructure, are likely to total about 145 million euros. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |